{
  "abstract": "Policies aimed at limiting COVID-19 spread during the pandemic generated dissatisfaction and resistance as they limited privileges or were perceived to infringe on individuals’ rights. Simultaneously, pandemic control and risk mitigation practices are seemingly subject to social resistance, just as other personal risk mitigating practices like seat belt use are. This analysis contributes to understanding U.S. resident perceptions of and compliance with public health pandemic control measures in January 2021. U.S. resident agreement with societal values statements as they pertain to healthcare, societal obligations to protect the elderly and children, and individual rights were studied. For all personal viral spread reducing behaviors studied, likelihood of participation increased with increasing agreement that: healthcare is a human right; the respondent wears a seat belt; we have a societal responsibility to protect the elderly; and having themselves or someone in their household in the higher risk group for COVID-19 complications. Agreement that gun ownership was a right decreased the likelihood of participation in any of the personal behaviors that affect viral spread. This study aims to understand societal perceptions of individual responsibility and rights relative to societal values and responsibilities, which has implications for future public health policy discussions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America",
    "Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America",
    "Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America",
    "Purdue University Brand Studio, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Courtney Bir"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nicole Olynk Widmar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Christopher A. Wolf"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Torrie Sheridan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maria Berikou"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cz1wskkzm065k.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0358741",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "cz1wskkzm065k",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358741",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3312|COVID-19 Prevention and Impact"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Pandemics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Infectious disease control/Social distancing"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Viral diseases/COVID 19"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Children"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Families/Children"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Research design/Survey research/Surveys"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Sociology/Human families"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214244461",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0358741&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-24",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cz1wskkzm065k.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0358741",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358741"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:epidemiology",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Societal values versus individual rights with respect to public health related practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.",
  "title_text": "Societal values versus individual rights with respect to public health related practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cz1wskkzm065k",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}